Next-Day Style: UPS Testing the Most Fetching Electric Delivery Trucks
Sometimes a little bit of design can make all the difference. That’s shaping up to be the case for delivery trucks from the U.K. company Arrival, which channel just the right amount of whimsical character to be noticed but not so much as to be laughed at.
The bonus feat for Arrival is that the trucks are more than a stylish reskin over existing commercial-truck bones. They pack fully electric powertrains and advanced driver-assistance tools, and the company claims that it’s designing core components in-house-including battery systems, power electronics, and motors as well as the user interface.
Last year, the U.K.’s postal authority, the Royal Mail, put some of these trucks into a fleet test. Now, under a trial program, Arrival will supply 35 trucks to the United Parcel Service (UPS), which has been working on ways of reducing its emissions and is even exploring the use of energy storage batteries at U.K. sites for more effective charging. The London company, formerly named Charge Automotive, has been testing prototypes with UPS since 2016.
The Arrival vehicles in the trial will be capable of going more than 150 miles between charging stops. Although they won’t be equipped with autonomous-vehicle technologies-something Arrival is working on for commercial trucks-they will have a “highly advanced vehicle display” and some advanced systems to assist the driver in dealing with parking, obstacles, pedestrians, and bicyclists.
Now for the disappointment: The trial is only within London and Paris. At last check, Arrival had no plans for the U.S. market-although C/D has asked and will update our story if we get a better answer. UPS has a total fleet of 9000 vehicles, so there’s potentially a lot in it for Arrival if it goes global.
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While many other companies-everyone from established truckmakers such as Daimler to a long list of startups, including California-based Chanje-are developing commercial electric trucks aimed at urban and suburban delivery, Arrival is neither alone in its mission nor far ahead with its technology. But the fleet business is conservative and focused on business-case necessities such as reliability, operating costs, and the bottom line-and Arrival claims running costs for its EVs that are about half those of existing diesel trucks. If it can pass muster on the pragmatic points, its design may bring recognition for clients like UPS to stand apart from the crowd.
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